Quadruple RAM BOP

ABSTRACT

A blowout preventer having a body, a main bore in the body, and rams that project into the main bore. The rams can be shear rams for shearing a tubular in the main bore, pipe rains for sealing around a tubular in the main bore, or sealing rams that seal across the main bore. The rams are in cavities formed in the body, the cavities are formed such that more than two rams can be disposed at the same elevation in the body thereby reducing the overall height of the blowout preventer stack.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority to and the benefit of co-pending U.S. Provisional Application Ser. No. 61/881,737, filed Sep. 24, 2013, the full disclosure of which is hereby incorporated by reference herein for all purposes.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present disclosure relates in general to production of hydrocarbon from a subterranean wellbore, and in particular to a blowout preventer (BOP) having adjacent cavities.

2. Description of Prior Art

Drilling a wellbore for production of oil and/or gas typically involves inserting a drilling string having a drill bit on its lower end through a wellhead assembly mounted over hydrocarbon bearing strata. Blowout preventers are often mounted onto the wellhead assembly for shearing or sealing around the drill string, and sealing in the wellbore. Offshore drilling rigs normally employ a riser to connect the subsea wellhead with the drilling rig, where the blowout preventer is located at a lower end of the riser. Generally, blowout preventers are assembled into a stack and include shear rams for shearing the drill string or tubular, and pipe rams sized to close and seal around pipe strings of certain diameters.

Typically each elevational section in the stack includes a cavity in which rams are disposed. Each cavity will contain a pair of either shear rams or pipe rams, where the rams are on opposite sides of a main bore that extends through the stack. The rams face one another, so that when activated are urged towards one another and into the main bore, either to shear or seal against the tubular in the main bore. Thus blowout preventers having a number of elevational sections may be large and occupy a large amount of space, and can thus be heavy thereby adding to the difficulties of transportation and installation.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Disclosed herein are examples of a blowout preventer. In one example, a blowout preventer for use with a wellhead assembly includes a body having an axis, a main bore in the body that is substantially parallel with the axis, at least three cavities in the body at substantially the same axial location in the body and that intersect the main bore, and a ram in each of the cavities. One of the rams can be a pipe ram and one of the rams can be a shear ram. Each ram may optionally include a block having a forward side facing the main bore, a rearward side distal from the forward side, lateral sides extending between the forward and rearward sides and that are in a plane that is generally parallel with the axis. The ram block can further have an upper side that extends between upper terminal ends of the forward and rearward sides. A seal can be provided on the ram block that extends along the upper side and the forward side. In an example, the axial location is a first axial location, wherein the cavities make up a first set of cavities, and wherein a second set of cavities are formed in the body at a second axial location that is spaced axially away from the first axial location. Rams may be further included that are in the second set of cavities. Four cavities can optionally be provided in the body at the same axial location, and wherein rams in two of the cavities are shear rams and rams in two of the cavities are pipe rams. An upper connection can optionally be included that selectively couples to a riser; a lower connection can also be included that selectively couples to a wellhead housing.

Another example of a blowout preventer for use with a wellhead assembly includes a body having an axis and a main bore aligned with the axis, cavities in the body that extend radially outward from the main bore and along paths that range up to about 90° from one another, and a ram assembly in each of the cavities. The cavities can be at about the same axial location along the axis. Each ram assembly can be made up of a block and a forward portion that selectively extends into the main bore. Each ram assembly can further include a forward side on which the forward portion is attached, a rearward side opposite the forward side, and lateral sides that extend between the forward and rearward sides, wherein the lateral sides are substantially fiat. An actuator can optionally be included for urging each rain assembly from the cavity towards the main bore.

An example of blowout preventer stack, which is selectively coupled with a wellhead assembly, is made up of an axis in the stack, a plurality of blowout preventers stacked on one another and each having a body, a main bore projecting axially through each of the bodies and that is substantially parallel with the axis, cavities in each body at substantially the same axial location in the body and that intersect the main bore and that extend along paths that range up to about 90° from one another, and rams in the cavities. Each ram can include a block having a forward side facing the main bore, a rearward side distal from the forward side, lateral sides extending between the forward and rearward sides and that are in a plane that is generally parallel with the axis. Cavities in each body can be about the same axial location along the axis. In one example four cavities are provided in each body at the same axial location, and wherein rams in two of the cavities comprise shear rams and rams in two of the cavities comprise pipe rams. An upper connection can selectively couple to a riser and a lower connection can selectively couple to a wellhead housing. In one example, each ram includes a block and a forward portion that selectively extends into the main bore.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

Some of the features and benefits of the present invention having been stated, others will become apparent as the description proceeds when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of an example of a blowout preventer on a wellhead assembly and in accordance with an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an axial sectional view of the blowout preventer of FIG. 1 and taken along lines 2-2 and in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partial sectional view of the blowout preventer of FIG. 1 and taken along lines 2-2 with a portion of the chamber housing removed, and in accordance with the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view of an example of a ram assembly for use with the blowout preventer of FIG. 1 and in accordance with the present invention.

While the invention will be described in connection with the preferred embodiments, it will be understood that it is not intended to limit the invention to that embodiment. On the contrary, it is intended to cover all alternatives, modifications, and equivalents, as may be included within the spirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF INVENTION

The method and system of the present disclosure will now be described more fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings in which embodiments are shown. The method and system of the present disclosure may be in many different forms and should not be construed as limited to the illustrated embodiments set forth herein; rather, these embodiments are provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, and will fully convey its scope to those skilled in the art. Like numbers refer to like elements throughout. In an embodiment, usage of the term “about” includes +/−5% of the cited magnitude. In an embodiment, usage of the term “substantially” includes +/−5% of the cited magnitude.

It is to be further understood that the scope of the present disclosure is not limited to the exact details of construction, operation, exact materials, or embodiments shown and described, as modifications and equivalents will be apparent to one skilled in the art. In the drawings and specification, there have been disclosed illustrative embodiments and, although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for the purpose of limitation.

FIG. 1 shows a partial side sectional view of one example of a blowout preventer 10 mounted on top of a wellhead assembly 11, where a housing 12 of the wellhead assembly 11 is anchored on the sea floor 14. A clamp connection 16 couples the blowout preventer 10 onto housing. Housing 12 and blowout preventer 10 are mounted over a wellbore 18, where wellbore 18 is shown being formed by a drill string 20 that extends axially through blowout preventer 10. Additionally, a length of conductor pipe 22 projects downward into wellbore 18 and on which the wellhead housing 12 is connected. The example of the blowout preventer 10 of FIG. 1 is for use subsea, and as such a riser 24 attaches to an upper end of blowout preventer 10 via flanged connection 26. Further included with blowout preventer 10 are actuators 28 ₁, 28 ₂, 28 ₃ and actuators 30 ₁, 30 ₂, 30 ₃. In the illustrated example, actuators 28 ₁₋₃ are set at a distance axially lower than actuators 30 ₁₋₃.

An axial sectional view of the blowout preventer 10 is provided in FIG. 2 and taken along lines 2-2 of FIG. 1. In this example, four actuator assemblies 30 ₁, 30 ₂, 30 ₃, 30 ₄ are shown mounted on a body 32 of blowout preventer 10. Adjacent actuators 30 ₁, 30 ₂, 30 ₃, 30 ₄ are set at an angle from one another that is about 90°. However, other angles are envisioned that can be less than or greater than 90°. Example angles are 30°, 45°, 60°, 120° and any value between these specific values. To accommodate the placement of the actuators 30 ₁₋₄, connections 34 for choke and kill lines (not shown.) are provided along corner sections and in between adjacent actuators 30 ₁₋₄. A main bore 36 is shown extending axially through the blowout preventer 10 and intersecting the chamber housing 38 that covers the blowout preventer 10.

Referring now to FIG. 3, axial section view of blowout preventer 10 is shown taken along lines 3-3 of FIG. 1. In this example, the upper portion of chamber housing 38 has been removed thereby making visible ram chamber 40 in which rams 42 are housed. Also visible in this example is ram chamber 43 in Which rams 44 are housed. More specifically, chamber 40 projects radially from main bore 36 and through body and terminating adjacent actuators 30 ₂, 30 ₄. In the illustrated example, rams 42 are shear rams for shearing a tubular, such as drill string 20 (FIG. 1) that may be projecting through blowout preventer 10. Optionally, rams 44 may be pipe rams that when projected radially inward and adjacent main bore 36 may seal around a. tubular that is coaxially disposed within main bore 36. In the example of FIG. 3, actuators 30 ₁, 30 ₃ are associated with the pipe rams 44. Thus, operating actuators 30 ₂, 30 ₄ can project the shear rams 42 radially inward and into the main bore 36. Similarly, operating actuators 30 ₁, 30 ₃ can actuate pipe rams 44 so that pipe rams 44 project radially inward to main bore 36.

An advantage of the present system, as realized in FIG. 1, is that more than 2 ram assemblies can be set in the blowout preventer 10 at a single axial location, or elevation, within blowout preventer 10. Thus, the overall length of the blowout preventer 10 can be less than that of other known blowout preventers. The shorter stack of the blowout preventer 10 therefore results in one that is easier o transport, and install due to its dimensions, and it also has a lower weight thereby increasing safety of transportation in an installation.

An example of a shear ram 42 is provided in a perspective view in FIG. 4. In this example, shear ram 42 includes a substantially solid ram block, which resembles a rectangular member having generally planar surfaces. A seal 48 is shown imbedded within the rain block 46 and has surfaces that extend upward from an upper surface 50 of ram block 46. To accommodate the multiple ram assemblies at a single elevation, lateral sides 52 of the ram 42 are flat and have a generally planar outer surface. A shear blade 54 is shown mounted on a forward. side 56 of ram block 46. On a side opposite forward side 56 is rearward side 58, which can receive an urging force to urge the shear ram 42 into main bore 36 (FIG. 3). Optionally, the actuators 28 ₁₋₄, 30 ₁₋₄ can be operated hydraulically, such as by the hydraulic supply 60 (FIG. 1) shown connected on an outer surface of actuators 28 ₁, 28 ₃. In this example, a piston 62 (shown in dashed outline) couples via a rod to rearward side 58 of ram 42 so that by urging hydraulic fluid under pressure into actuators, ram 42 can be selectively urged radially inward into bore 36.

The present invention described herein, therefore, is well adapted to carry out the objects and attain the ends and advantages mentioned, as well as others inherent therein. While a presently preferred embodiment of the invention has been given for purposes of disclosure, numerous changes exist in the details of procedures for accomplishing the desired results. These and other similar modifications will readily suggest themselves to those skilled in the art, and are intended to be encompassed within the spirit of the present invention disclosed herein and the scope of the appended claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A blowout preventer for use with a wellhead assembly comprising: a body having axis; a main bore in the body that is substantially parallel with the axis; at least three cavities in the body at substantially the same axial location in the body and that intersect the main bore; and a ram in each of the cavities.
 2. The blowout preventer of claim 1, wherein one of the rams comprises a pipe ram and one of the rams comprises a shear ram.
 3. The blowout preventer of claim 1, wherein each ram comprises a block having a forward side facing the main bore, a rearward side distal from the forward side, lateral sides extending between the forward and rearward sides and that are in a plane that is generally parallel with the axis.
 4. The blowout preventer of claim 3, wherein the ram block further comprises an upper side that extends between upper terminal ends of the forward and rearward sides.
 5. The blowout preventer of claim 4, wherein a seal is provided on the ram that extends along the upper side and the forward side.
 6. The blowout preventer of claim 1, wherein the axial location comprises a first axial location, wherein the cavities comprise a first set of cavities, and wherein a second set of cavities are formed in the body at a second axial location that is spaced axially away from the first axial location.
 7. The blowout preventer of claim 6, further comprising rams in the second set of cavities.
 8. The blowout preventer of claim 1, wherein four cavities are provided in the body at the same axial location, and wherein rams in two of the cavities comprise shear rams and rams in two of the cavities comprise pipe rams.
 9. The blowout preventer of claim 1, further comprising an upper connection that selectively couples to a riser and a lower connection that selectively couples to a wellhead housing.
 10. A blowout preventer for use with a wellhead assembly comprising: a body having an axis and a main bore aligned with the axis; cavities in the body that extend radially outward from the main bore and along paths that range up to about 90° from one another; and a ram assembly in each of the cavities.
 11. The blowout preventer of claim 10, wherein the cavities are at about the same axial location along the axis.
 12. The blowout preventer of claim 10, wherein each ram assembly comprises a block and a forward portion that selectively extends into the main bore.
 13. The blowout preventer of claim 12, wherein each ram assembly further comprises a forward side on which the forward portion is attached, a rearward side opposite the forward side, and lateral sides that extend between the forward and rearward sides, wherein the lateral sides are substantially flat.
 14. The blowout preventer of claim 10, further comprising an actuator for urging each ram assembly from the cavity towards the main bore.
 15. A blowout preventer stack selectively coupled with a wellhead assembly and comprising: an axis in the stack; a plurality of blowout preventers stacked on one another and each having a body; a main bore projecting axially through each of the bodies and that is substantially parallel with the axis; cavities in each body at substantially the same axial location in the body and that intersect the main bore and that extend along paths that range up to about 90° from one another; and rams in the cavities.
 16. The blowout preventer stack of claim 15, wherein each ram comprises a block having a forward side facing the main bore, a rearward side distal from the forward side, lateral sides extending between the forward and rearward sides and that are in a plane that is generally parallel with the axis.
 17. The blowout preventer stack of claim 15, wherein the cavities in each body are at about the same axial location along the axis.
 18. The blowout preventer stack of claim 15, wherein four cavities are provided in each body at the same axial location, and wherein rams in two of the cavities comprise shear rams and rams in two of the cavities comprise pipe rams.
 19. The blowout preventer stack of claim 15, further comprising an upper connection that selectively couples to a riser and a lower connection that selectively couples to a wellhead housing.
 20. The blowout preventer stack of claim 15, wherein each ram comprises a block and a forward portion that selectively extends into the main bore. 